Winding apparatus



Jan. 6, 1942. L. A. WIGGINS WINDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 25, 1941 wa l along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Patented Jan. 6, 1942 WINDING Ar ARATUSQ Leonard A. Wiggins, Akrom-Ohiofassignor to The B. 'F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application January-25, 19i1, Serial No..s7s,959 I 15 Claims. (o 242 45 This invention relates to the winding of thread, yarn, etc., and especially to apparatus for the winding of elasticyarn into packages.

Heretofore, attempts. to provide meansfor winding elastic yarn into conical packages for shipping andfurther handling :have presented the difiiculty, among others, that the elastic yarn has been subjected toconsiderable tension in be- .ing pulled froma skein which has frequently resulted in an objectionable stretched disposition of the elastic yarn in a package of the same as subsequently wound. This undesirable stressing of the yarn has sometimes resulted in loss of stretchability and loss of strength in the yar Not onlyhas the elastic yarn been undesirably stretched as wound, but a further ob- .jection has been that frequently the degree of stretch of the yarn in a package has varied irregularlythroughout the package which has often resulted in undesirable erratic movementsof the yarn as the package has been unwound for weaving or other subsequent operations.

The chief objects of the inventionare to provide for winding yarn or the like in a manner to control the amount of tension in the wound material; to provide, in the case of elastic yarn, for winding it with little or no tension; to provide means adapted to Wind elastic yarn into package form in a manner such that the stresses 'in the strands of yarn of the package are relatively small and uniformly distributed through the package;to provide for uniformity of winding; to provide compactness in the package, and toprovide for .economyand convenience of manufacture and operation.

These and further objects will be apparent from the following description, reference being held to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. ,1 is afront elevation of apparatus, con- .structed in accordance with and embodying the invention, in its preferred form.

Fig. 2 is a section on an enlarged scale taken Fig. 3 is a section on an enlarged scale taken along the line 3 -33 of Fig; 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale showing details of construction of a portion of J the apparatus. Fig. 5 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale showing details of construction of a portion of the apparatus.

Apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention is shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing in assembly. The apparatus is adapted to pull elastic yarn from a skein or the like, or insom'e 5 suitablefguiding means". "The guides 25, 25 are leases directly-from a spinning machine, if desired, and wind the yarn on a core under conditions of relatively slightand substantially uniform tension, or substantially no tension. i vAskein of elastic yarn, or other stretchable, material mounted on a swift H which .ismounted as shown in Fig.3 on a shaft l2 of ,aswift,;hub I3 held rotatably'in slots l4, IA of .a pair of swift-supporting arms l5, l5. The

arms l5, 15. are mounted on a supporting rod I6 which is supportedby an upright bracket l1 mounted on one or more tie-rods l8, all sup- .ported upon a suitable framework of which a ,portion of a mounting pedestal l8a is shown .in Fig- 1.

Aflpull-off roll l9, m neral or other suitable material adapted to provide a smooth, wear-resistant surface, is mounted on a shaft 20,, supported the bracket I]. The roll I9 is disposed-"in'a position such that .the elastic yarn to be wound'may be disposed in looped relation about the same in at least one loop, but

speed of the spindle 2 I preferably a plurality. of loops, for example, four as shown in Fig. 5. When the pull-off roll I9 .is rotated, the elastic yarn looped thereabout-is pulled from theskein I0 under tension and the yarn ordinarily is stretched in this operation.

A spindle 21 as shown in Fig. 2 upon which falcore '22Ymay be ,mounted to receive the yarn,

is rotated by suitable driving means 20a and the pull-off roll I9 is preferably rotated insynchronism therewith by means of an inter-connected drive 20b and at a speed greater than the The cumulative effect of the friction'between the loops lob, I00, [0d, and We andthe surface of the pull-off roll 1 9 'puns therya'rn from the skein I10 and the loops from 10b to we exert progressively less pull as gree are, in" effect, pushed around the roll and therefrom and are subjected only to the relatively slight "tension in the reach Hlf of the yarn provided by the more slowly rotated spindle 2|.

An arm member 23, pivoted at the pin 24, in-' lcorporatesa series of spaced-apart yarn guides 25, 25 at oneend'thereof which may be bent from the'wire; or rod material of the arm member '23 as shown. Alternatively, the arm member may be of heavier constructionthan the wire shown irrt'he drawing and the yarn guides may be in the form of a roller, slots, eyelets, or other adapted to retain loops I01), I00, IOd, Ille of the yarn at spaced-apart positions without interference, the number of guides provided being in accordance with the number of loops desired. A finger-like member 26, fixed to the pin 24, may be desirable to further guide the elastic yarn onto the pull-off roll I9 and to prevent the arm member 23 from being pulled into contact with the pull-oif roll I9. 9

Movement of the pivoted arm member 23 is controlled by a spring 21, or other suitable resilient member, connected to the arm member 23 in a manner such as to urge the yarn guides 25, 25 of the arm member 23 in a direction away tached at its other end by means of a spring arm 23 to a counterweight 29 pivotally mounted on a.

shaft 33 supported by a camcasing 3I-. A

bracket 32 adapted to hold slidably a "traverse;

mechanism 33 and a pressure roll 34, more fully described hereinafter, is constructed integral with the pivoted counterweight 29.

A braking member 35 is operatively connected with the pivoted arm member 23 by means of a brake arm 36 the movement of which is defined by a guiding bracket 31 and a movable connection 33 with the arm member 23. The braking member 35 may comprise a piece of rubber-like material, fabric, etc., secured to the brake arm 35 and adapted to engage the swift hub I3 in braking contact.

The pivoted arm member 23 and the brake member 35 provide compensating means for changes in tension in the yarn. An increase in the resistance oi the yarn to being pulled from the skein I I] will result in an increase in the tension in'the reach Illa of the yarn and this increased tension tends to pull the pivoted arm swift II and skein I I] to rotation, and consequently reducing the resistance of the yarn to being pulled from the skein l0.

Also, if the resistance of the yarn in the skein It to pulling is reduced, or if the speed of rotation of the swift I I increases undesirably, the reduction in tension in the yarn coming off the skein I0 permits movement of the spring-controlled, pivoted arm member 23 to a position relatively farther away from the roll I9 so that the amount of pull exerted on the yarn, which.

is in this case excessive, is reduced by reducing the length of yarn in contact with the roll I9 and at the same time the braking member 35 is movedinto closer braking contact with the swift hub I3 and the speed of rotation of the hub I3 is reduced.

The compensating means, provided by the spring-controlled, pivoted arm member 23 and the braking member 35 operatively connected therewith, is desirable, because as a package log of yarn is wound, the diameter is increased so that the speed of the surface of the package Iflg is increased. An increase in the speed of the reach ID of the yarn being wound increases ob- ;jectionably the tension in the yarn and consequently the amount of stretch in the yarn as Wound I0g is increased objectionably.

Th compensating means provide that when the traverse mechanism 33 is moved in a path away from' the spindle as the diameter of the package Illg increases, the spring arm 28 moves in a manner such that the tension in the spring 2! is slowly released and the pivoted arm member 23 is allowed to rotate at a relatively slow and substantially uniform rate about the pin 24 so that the guides 25, 25 of the arm 23 move toward the roll I9 increasing the length of yarn contacting the roll I9 and the amount of fric- -tion therebetween and consequently the pull on the yarn is increased while the brake member 35 is gradually pulled away from the swift hub I3 so that the braking action on the swift II is slowly decreased and the speed of rotation of the-swift II is increased to compensate for the increased speed of the portion of the yarn being wound and to maintain the tension therein at a relatively small value.

The traverse mechanism 33 is operated through a slide 39 and a roller 40 of a cam 4| mounted on a shaft 30, as indicated in Fig. 4.

The pressure roll 34, as mentioned hereinabove, is preferably of conical shape so that its surface may contact uniformly the preferred conical package form Iflg as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The pressure roll 34 is preferably constructed of metal, plastic or other suitable material adapted to provide a smooth, wear-resistant surface. The pressure roll 34 may be rotatably mounted in a frame member 43 adapted to be bolted or otherwise suitably fastened to the traverse mechanism 33 so that the pressure roll 34 packag Illa for all diameters of the package IOg,

thereby increasing the uniformity and neatness of the package log, as wound.

The pressure roll 34 may be mounted in any other suitable manner adapted to position it in contactwith the surface of the package IOg, but it is desirable that the pressure roll 34 be held, as by the force of the counterweight 29, lightly but firmly against the surface of the yarn package lIlg as shown in Fig. 2 and that the yarn passes around a part circumference of the pressure roll 34 and through the slidably mounted guiding eyelet 44 onto the package Illg where it is urged into place on the package Mg by the contacting pressure roll 34 under the desired amount of tension, which amount is relatively very slight, in most cases. The pressure roll 34 is rotated by the yarn passing thereover .and by contact with the package lllg. The conical pressure roll 34 is desirably positioned so that the which the yarn travels. The pigtail guide 45 may be mounted in any suitable manner, as for example, on a swift arm l5, as shown in Fig. 1, and positioned in relation to the pull-off roll I9 and the pressure roll 34 as desired, but preferably in a manner approximating the position as pedestals-and the swift arms I5 made dual, as

they'ar'e shown in the drawing, so'that similar 'units of the apparatus may be mounted in series shown, in order that the yarn may -travel--substantially free from possible interference with working parts and other obstructions.

In theoperation of the apparatus of theinvention, askein- II) of elasticyarn, rubber thread, or other resilient filamentary material to be packaged is mounted on a swift II and the free end of the yarn, thread etc. is looped about the pull-oil roll I9 and yarn guides'25, 25 the desired number of times. From the pull-off roll l9 the yarn is passedover one or more pigtail guides, as 45, from the pigtail guide 45 aboutapart circumference of the pressure roll 34, through the guiding eyelet 44 of the traverse mechanism 33 and is attached to a package core'22 mounted on the spindle 2|. .The power drivenpull-off ro-ll I9 pulls the yarn from the skein Ill, reduces or .eliminates objectionable stretch in the yarn and delivers it under conditions of only slight tension to the conical package core 22 through the guide button 44 of the traverse mechanism.

The pressure roll 34 presses lightly but firmly against the surface of the package log and rolls down the-coned yarn to provide a neatly wound yarn package Iflg, the strands of which are under conditions .of relatively slight and substantially uniform stress.

- The braking member 35,0peratively connected with the spring-controlled, pivotedarm member 23, is adapted to be moved by the varying pull of the loops of yarn 10b, Inc, Mid and We on the yarn guides 25, in a manner such that the braking actionon the swift H is changed as desired to compensate for changes in tension in the reach Illa of the yarn leaving the skein Ill.

The pull-off roll I 9, the spindle 2| and the cam 4| are preferably driven from asingle source of power and in synchronism, as for example, by belts 20a, 29b and 200, and the spindlez-l may be driven at any speed desired less than the speed of the pull-ofi roll I9. A spindle speed of approximately one-third that of the pull-off roll I9 has been found tobesatisfactory in many cases.

The tension in the yarn may be adjusted, if desired, by varying the tension in thespring 21 which may be providedby a choice of spring connections, as the holes 46, 46 in the pivoted arm member 23' and by providing for mounting the bracket I! in a manner to be slidably adjustable on the supporting rod I6 and the tie rod I 8. Also, the number of loops of yarn, as I01), I00, Ind, Inc, about the pull-off roll may be used advantageously in providing the amount of tension desired in the yarn as wound Illg. The greater the number of loops employed, the less will be the tension in the yarn IIif leavingthe pull-off roll l9. It is possible with the apparatus of the invention, by employing a sufficient number of loops, as Illb, IIlc, Ind, Ille, of the yarn about the pull-off roll I9, to supply yarn at the delivery end for winding, as at If, under conditions of substantially no tension, if desired. The more extensive the frictional surface contact "of the yarn on the pull-off roll I9, the greater will be the assurance that the tension of the .yarn

will be completely relaxed by contraction during its passage along the roll I9 before the yarn reaches the delivery reach In) to the winding ing pedestal I80, may be rigidly attached by .means -.of cross-frame members. ,to additional for convenience of operation.

The apparatus as herein described isespecial- 1y desirable for the winding of elastic yarn, elas- -tic thread and other. elastic filamentary materials, but features of the invention are advantageousalso for the winding of yarn, thread, etc.,

of more limited .stretchability or elasticity. The term yarn, as herein employed, is intended to include cord, thread and the like, as well as. materials more commonly referred'to as yarn, in-

- eluding materials of low-as well as high stretchability. Yarn of high stretchability, such for ex- I ample ascover'ed rubber thread, is referred to 'herein morespecificallyas elastic yarn7.

Variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as it is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for winding elastic yarn into package form, said apparatus. comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for winding the yarn into package form, means for pulling the yarn under tension from the let-off mechanism and having surface meanscomprising spaced-apart relatively movable elements disposed to engage the yarn for pulling the yarn under tension and releasing the tension by progressive contraction of the yarn to-deliver the yarn at a reduced tension for the winding operation, means for driving the pulling means, and means interconnecting the let-off mechanism with said movable elements for control of the let-ofi mechanism in accordance with the condition of tension of the yarn at said'pulling means.

'2.Apparatus for winding elastic yarn into package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for winding the yarn into package form, means for pulling the yarn under tension from the let-off mechanism, said last-named means including a series of spacedapart surface portions disposed to engagethe yarnsuccessively in looped form, means for varying the distance between at least some of said surface portions to vary the loop size, and driv- .ing means associated with they pulling means for pulling the yarn under tension from said let-off under tension from the let-off mechanism, said last-named means including a rotatable member intermediate the let-ofE mechanism and the windingmeans having a surface disposed to receivethe yarn in a series of spaced-apart loops and to engage the sameby extensive frictional surface-contact-for pulling the yarn from said let-01f -mechanism under tension and releasing the tension by progressive contraction of the yarn during such frictional surface contact to deliver the yarn at a reduced tension for the winding operation, means for driving said rotatable memher, and means for varying the size of said loops to compensate for variations in tension of the yarn reaching said loops.

4. Apparatus for winding elastic yarn into package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-ofi mechanism, means for winding theyarn mechanism and the winding means for pulling the yarn under tension from the let-off mechanism and delivering said yarn under reduced tension for the winding operation, and means associated with said let-off mechanism operatively connected with the winding means for controlling the rate of supply of yarn from said let-off mechanism in accordance with the rate of delivery of the same to said winding means to maintain substantially uniform tension in the yarn as it is wound.

5. Apparatus for winding yarn into package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for pulling the yarn under tension from said let-off mechanism and delivering the yarn under reduced tension for the winding operation, means for winding the yarn into package form, and means for guiding the yarn onto the winding means, the guiding means comwinding operation, means for winding the yarn into conical package form, means for guiding the yarn onto the winding means, the guiding means comprising a freely-rotatable, conical roller disposed to contact the surface of the package as it is wound for positioning the guiding means a substantially constant, spaced distance from said surface as the package is Wound.

'7. Apparatus as described in claim 6, in which said conical roller is mounted in such relation to the conical package that the axes thereof intersect each other.

8. Apparatus for winding yarn into package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for winding the yarn into package form, means intermediate the let-off mechanism and the winding means for pulling the yarn under tension from the let-off mechanism and delivering the yarn under reduced tension for the. winding operation and comprising a member including yarn guides disposed to receive the yarn in looped form, said member being movable to shorten the looped portion and having means for yieldably resisting such movement to vary the looped portion in accordance with variations in tension in the yarn as it is pulled from the let-off mechanism for compensating for such variations in tension to deliver the yarn under substantially uniform tension for the winding operation.

9. Apparatus for winding elastic yarn into package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for winding the yarn into package form, means intermediate the let-01f mechanism and the winding means for pulling the yarn under tension from the let-off mechanism and delivering said yarn under reduced tension for the winding operation, means for compensating variations in tension in the yarn, the compensating means comprising a member which includes a series of spaced-apart yarn guides disposed to receive the yarn therein and mounted for movement by yarn pressure in accordance with said variations in tension, and means operatively connected with said member for controlling the rate of supply of yarn from the letoff mechanism in accordance with the variations in tension to deliver the yarn at substantially uniform tension.

10. Apparatus for winding elastic yarn into package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for winding the yarn into, package form, means intermediate the letoff mechanism and the winding means for pulling the yarn under tension from the let-off mechanism and delivering said yarn under reduced tension for the winding operation, said last-named means including a rotatable member having a surface disposed to receive the yarn in a series of spaced-apart loops and to engage the same by extensive frictional surface contact for pulling the yarn from said let-off mechanism under tension and releasing the tension by progressive contraction of the yarn during such frictional surface contact to deliver the yarn at a reduced tension for the winding operation, means for driving said rotatable member, means for compensating variations in tension in the yarn, the compensating means comprising a member which includes a series of spaced-apart yarn guides disposed to receive the yarn therein, and is movable in accordance with said variations in tension, and means operatively connected with said member for controlling the rate of supply of yarn from the let-off mechanism in accordance with the variations in tension to deliver the yarn substantially free of such variations.

11. Apparatus for winding elastic yarn into package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for winding the yarn into package form, means intermediate the letoff mechanism and the winding means for pulling the yarn under tension from the let-off mechanism and delivering said yarn under reduced tension for the winding operation, said lastnamed means including a series of spaced-apart surface portions disposed to engage the yarn successively and driving means for pulling the yarn under tension from said let-off mechanism and delivering the yarn at a reduced tension for the winding operation, means for guiding the yarn onto the winding means, the guiding means comprising a member disposed to contact the surface of the package for positioning the guiding I means to operate in determinate positional relation to the surface of the package, means associated with said let-off mechanism operatively connected with the winding means for controlling the rate of supply of yarn from said let-off mechanism in accordance with the rate of delivery of the same to said winding means to maintain substantially uniform tension in the yarn as it is wound, and means comprising a member including yarn guides disposed to receive the yarn, and movable in accordance with variations in tension in the yarn as it is pulled from the let-off mechanism for compensating for such variations in tension to deliver the yarn under substantially uniform tension for the winding operation.

12. Apparatus for winding elastic yarn into conical package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for winding the yarn into conical package form, means intermediate the let-oil mechanism and the winding means for pulling the yarn under tension from the let-off mechanism and delivering said yarn under reduced tension for the winding operation, said last-named means including a rotatable member having a surface disposed to receive the yarn in a series of spaced-apart loops and to engage the same by extensive frictional surface contact for pulling the yarn from said let-ofl mechanism under tension and releasing the tension by progressive contraction of the yarn during such frictional surface contact. to deliver the yarn at a reduced tension for the winding operation, means for driving said rotatable member, means for guiding the yarn onto said winding means, the guiding means comprising a freelyrotatable, conical roller disposed to contact the surface of the conical package as it is wound for positioning the guiding means a substantially constant spaced distance from said surface as the package is wound, said conical roller being mounted in such relation to the conical'package that the axes thereof intersect each other, means associated with said let-off mechanism and operatively connected with the winding means for controlling the rate of supply of yarn from said let-off mechanism in accordance with the rate of delivery of the same to said winding means to maintain substantially uniform tension in the yarn as it is wound, and means for compensating for variations in tension in the yarn, the compensating means comprising a member which includes a series of spaced-apart yarn guides disposed to receive the yarn therein, said member being movable in accordance with said variations in tension to deliver the yarn substantially free of such variations.

13. Apparatus for winding elastic yarn into package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for winding the yarn into package form, means intermediate the letoif mechanism and the winding means for pulling the yarn from the let-ofi mechanism and delivering the yarn for the winding operation,

means for guiding the yarn onto the winding means, the guiding means comprising a member movable in accordance with the build-up of the package, means at the pulling means for varying the tension of the yarn, and means connecting the tension-varying means with said movable member of the guiding means for controlling tension of the yarn at the pulling means to deliver yarn to the package at substantially uniform tension during the build-up of the yarn on the package.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13 in which the means connecting the tension-varying means with said movable member of the guiding means comprises a spring under tension.

15. Apparatus for winding .elastic yarn into package form, said apparatus comprising yarn let-off mechanism, means for winding the yarn into package form, means intermediate the letoff mechanism and the winding means forpulling the'yarn from the let-off mechanism and delivering the yarn for the winding operation, means for guiding the yarn onto the winding means, the guiding means comprising a member movable in accordance with the build-up of the package, said pulling means comprising a drum and an element spaced therefrom for engagement of the yarn in looped form about the drum and element, said element being movable with respect to the drum to vary the extent of surface contact of the yarn upon said drum, and means connecting said movable member of the guiding means and the movable element of said pulling means for varying the extent of surface contact of the yarn upon said drum in accordance with the build-up of said package to deliver yarn to the package at substantially uniform tension.

' LEONARD A. WIGGINS. 

